Erinzam News

At the start of the year, a fellow Etsy artist requested a custom weekly planner/sketchbook for 2008. I struggled to begin until I chanced upon some great inspiration by designer and artist Amanda Hawkins. She created her very own organizer and planner pages, which are available for download from here. Amanda’s fantastic approach to her own planner helped me to finally overcome my artist’s block and inspired me to create something exciting. Forget DayMinder!

I designed a weekly calendar page, complete with a system for stamping in the dates and the phases of the moon. I printed these pages onto a substantial drawing paper and interspersed various sketch papers and envelopes between each week. My hope is for each week to present a surprise and inspiration to the owner. The cover is machine embroidered canvas covering book board. The snap closure allows for expansion as items are added to the envelopes throughout the year.

I like how this project turned out so much that I almost considered creating one for myself. After remembering how much time it took, I changed my mind. I think I’ll stick to my current system/mess of little pieces of paper and sticky notes for now.

Here they are! Earlier I mentioned a special project that I worked on in conjunction with the online shop, Three Potato Four. We came up with a set of three little books made from inventory tags. I screen printed numbers onto the covers with a Print Gocco, lined them with special papers and bound them using a pamphlet stitch. Each set is bundled in a little handmade muslin bag. I think these would be fun for grownups too!

Here are a few more cute items available through Three Potato Four’s brand new Kids section:

Yep. The newest issue of ReadyMade will soon appear on newsstands, so it’s about time I write a little bit about my contribution to their previous issue (Dec. 2007 / Jan. 2008), which is still available, if you are interested. Better late than never!

As usual, ReadyMade published a fantastic issue, including a selection of ideas for making your own holiday gifts. The ideas center around materials: paper, wood, plastic, fabric and metal. I contributed an idea to the paper section on how to make a note card set from repurposed materials.

Below are step-by-step instructions for how to make your own set of these note cards from file folders and other papers that you may already have.

You will need these materials and tools:

• Hanging file folders

• Miscellaneous papers (sheet music, ruled paper, graph paper, etc.)

• Glue stick

• Thick rubber band

• Ruler

• Olfa / X-acto knife

• Bone folder (optional)

• Paper clips

1. One regular file folder makes two cards. Open up a folder and cut it perpendicular to the center fold at 4 1/4 in. to the left of the fold. The center fold will serve as the fold for the cards. Cut the rest of the folder down to 11 in. x 12 3/4 in., then cut that in half lengthwise to form two 5 1/2 in. x 12 3/4 in. rectangles. Fold each piece into a tri-fold.

2. You can use any design on the front of the card. I chose monograms, so I printed out a large letter, paper clipped it to the center panel, and cut it out to create a hole.

3. Choose a paper to show through the cutout, and cut it down to the size of the center panel. Glue it under the hole, then fold the right (front) panel and glue it down to the back side of the center panel.

4. Carefully open up a standard A-2 envelope (4 3/8 in. x 5 3/4 in.) and paper clip it to your paper of choice.

5. Use the original envelope as a guide to cut your paper in the same shape.

6. Fold the new envelope paper along the original envelope’s folds.

7. Glue the bottom flap to the side flaps to complete your envelope.

8. Repeat until you have a set of cards and envelopes.

9. Wrap up your set with a rubber band and use one of the leftover cutout letters as a gift tag.

I love the way that this idea developed. While working on cassette tape books, I discovered that I somehow cut a stack of pages way too small. Not about to waste paper (oh no!) I began to scavenge around the studio for something that would make an appropriate cover for a tiny book. I came across a set of vintage inventory tags that I purchased from the Etsy shop, Other People’s Flowers. I had no plans for them at the time of their purchase… just a keen interest in collecting functional paper. Voila! The perfect match for my little mistake. These books are available here.

Today I used favorite fabric scraps and images from vintage magazines to create a series of little buttons/pins to include with books purchased from my Etsy shop. I’m tempted to keep a few of these for myself!

After loads of planning, designing and cutting, I finally have an edition of 100 rocket clocks ready to find new homes via Etsy. I created this design several years ago as part of a class assignment at Fort Hays State University and recently decided to refine and redesign a few parts. I will post more about the entire process soon. Until then, here are a few images to give you a glimpse of the paper goodness.

I’m so excited about the beautiful frame that arrived today for my little Luba painting. I did this painting quite some time ago, and just couldn’t decide on the right way to present it. Finally, I found the perfect frame and now Luba is ready for a new home.

Three more fabric books are ready for a new home! I did hesitate to give up #3 though, as I have a soft spot for typography. All of these covers are reclaimed from fabrics destined for who-knows-what or where. The first is from a damaged vintage tablecloth, the second from an old curtain, the third from a discarded mail bag. Although I have the raw materials for making a series of eight books this size, I want each one to be distinctly different. The first book is quilted and pillowy, the second has a special pocket that runs the length of the cover, and the third is unique because of the printing on the plastic canvas.

Finally! After months, and even years of creating a stash of fun and unique fabric scraps, I am putting them to use. In the works is a small series of books made from this very pile of textiles. Here are the first two, made from vintage drapery samples discovered this past summer in a 2nd hand store. More to come!

A sampling of unique kitchen and tea towels, printed, embroidered, or woven by hand:

Left to right, top: PataPri, artgoodies, hannahlaura, rockpaperscissorsart
Left to right, bottom: ofpaperandthread, OHHONEY, MrPS, jschubertdesigns

After years of using paper towels, I’m giving them up. Well, not completely, but as much as possible. My most recent trip to Europe made my dependence on a constant stream of disposable paper very noticeable. Blame it on being American, but I had no idea that I was needlessly filling up my trash can with fluffy white paper used to dry my hands and wipe my face. About the same time as the trip, I received a very special collection of hand-embroidered tea towels as a wedding gift. I love these towels! I am now creating a collection of fun and pretty towels that hang all over the kitchen. This way, I have no excuse to reach for the paper when my hands are dripping wet. This new change of pace led me to the next step: cloth napkins. I’m not sure what took me so long to prefer cloth over paper, but now I will never go back. Cloth napkins are much more fun. I don’t even need to mention the money and the trees that I save.

I came up with an easy way to create a fun stash of cloth napkins on the cheap, created from kitchen towels. Most available cloth napkins are white, and I frequently eat curry, spaghetti sauce, blueberries, you name it. This makes the white napkins look gross after one or two uses. I select kitchen towels with dark colors or busy patterns which can hide my messes. The set of towels I selected above are from Anthropologie. The process is so simple. I fold each towel in half lengthwise and cut along the fold. I then double fold, pin and stitch a new hem along each cut edge. Done! That’s it. These napkins are not a standard “napkin size” but they work quite well for everyday meals. You can bring out the fancy white ones when you have guests.